Instruments(Read after installation of Musical Colors on an instrument)

Guitar (Parallel Chords & Scales, Finger Exercises and Inversions)

So you want to learn how to play the guitar. First, make sure that the Musical Colors stickers are properly placed on your guitar fret board (refer to the sticker sheet). Once your stickers are properly placed then you are ready to start learning how the guitar fret board is laid out. A guitar is a unique instrument. All six strings need to be tuned to the right frequencies (E, A, D, G, B, E). When playing the guitar, there are some tricks. When you play a scale pattern or a chord pattern on the guitar you can shift your hand to a different position on the fret board, while still playing the same pattern, but on different notes. This is called parallel chords and scales. This is a system for helping you begin to visualize, through the use of color, how musical notes are laid out on your guitar fret board. It is a visual aid and tool that will help you uncover musical concepts and applications to improve your overall musicianship. With Musical Colors you will find an easy and comprehensive way to understand the function of music and its components. It is our hope that through learning the basic formulas for making music you will begin to understand the complexity of relationships that occur when music is heard. With this system you can learn the basics of music theory and actually realize it on your guitar. The system will teach you about how music is made, what it is composed of, how to get around musically and will open up avenues for your own creativity. You will learn the basic building blocks of music, Melody and Harmony. You will be able to play Major and Minor scales quickly and accurately on your instrument in any position or key. You will be able to play chords in any position or key. You will know how these chords are built and what scales they originate from. The manual was created in such a way as to facilitate the cross referencing of scale and chord information in order to begin to understand and realize music progression and modulation.

Getting to know your guitar.
It is important that your guitar be set up with the correct strings, whether you are using a steel string guitar or a nylon string guitar. It is also important that your instrument is set up correctly with the Musical Colors stickers. You should take some time to familiarize yourself with the guitar. (Neck, Sound Hole, Frets, Nut, Bridge, Tuning Keys, Strings, etc.) Once you know these things then make sure your guitar is tuned correctly.

How to tune your guitar:

Exact tuning
The best way to tune your guitar is to use an electronic tuner. This will make sure that your instrument's strings are tuned to the correct frequencies. You can also tune your guitar to any piano or keyboard, which are usually always in tune with those frequencies. This form of exact tuning is very important when playing with other musical instruments.

Rough tuning
Should you not have access to an electronic tuner or some other instrument that is already tuned, you can still tune your guitar. If you are playing by yourself, then this is no problem. If you are playing with someone else, then you need to make sure that you can both tune your instruments to one another. This is still possible but you may not be in tune with the specific frequencies at which our modern day system of music is tuned to.

How to play Scales in:
C Major
A minor
F# Major Pentatonic (Wish you were here - Pink Floyd)
D# minor Pentatonic

Parallel Scale Exercises:
As you familiarize yourself with these scales you will begin to develop "finger memory" or the ability to feel what playing those scales feels like. Once you do this you can begin to move that fingering pattern or "feeling" to different positions on the guitar neck. When you do this, then you are learning to transpose these scales to different keys.

How to play Chords in:
C Major
A minor
F# Major Pentatonic
D# minor Pentatonic

Parallel Chord Exercises:
As you familiarize yourself with playing chords you will begin to develop "finger memory" or the ability to feel what playing a certain chord feels like. Once you do this you can begin to move that fingering configuration to different positions on the guitar neck. When you do this, then you are learning to transpose these chords to different root notes.

Additional Fingering Exercises:Color Coded Sheet Music:
Popular Song Riffs, Melodies and Chords
4 samples of riffs or melodies for each scale
4 samples of chord progressions for popular songs